Understanding the Importance of Real-Time Inventory Management System

Many businesses are now shifting from physical documentation to inventory management software. As a result, their operations are becoming leaner and more efficient.

In addition to using software for inventory management, businesses also recognize the need for real-time information and live data updates. Fortunately, with the latest upgrades, businesses can use this feature to make more timely decisions. Regardless of the size of the business or its industry, a real-time inventory management system is a critical element in all operations that involve stocking and managing inventory.

As a business, you should consider switching to this system to achieve complete operational efficiency. If you're on the fence about getting it, here's everything you need to know about the importance of a real-time inventory management system.

What is Inventory Management?

Inventory is an important part of the company's operations and one of its biggest assets. It's what creates revenue for the company and keeps the business going. Any shortfall in inventory can quickly result in major financial losses for the company.

The entire inventory needs to be managed properly to ensure timely delivery of goods to customers from raw material to finished goods. Inventory management is a process that includes the order, storage, use, and ultimately sale of the inventory by a company. Swift inventory management is put in place to make sure that there are no shortages.

What is a Real-Time Inventory Management System?

With technological advancements, it has now become much easier to manage inventory and keep track of the changes as they happen. Real-time inventory management systems are now rapidly being adopted by most companies to avoid stock-outs and excess inventory. With this software, all the changes to the inventory are recorded right away, and the company can make quick decisions.

Brick-and-mortar companies have Point of Sale (POS) software that uses barcode scanning to record outgoing and incoming inventory. On the other hand, online businesses need to integrate their inventory system with their online sales channel. These things allow the businesses to have the latest information about the inventory levels and preemptively deal with any problems that may pop up.

With time, more companies are shifting from periodic inventory management to real-time inventory management systems to gain business agility.

Benefits of Using a Real-Time Inventory Management System

Understandably, shifting to a new system can be daunting. When making this investment, you should consider all the benefits attached to it. Using a real-time inventory management system in place of your outdated system will have benefits that outweigh the cost. Keep reading to find out how.

Supply Chain Optimization

Every business has a supply chain of vendors that help the company produce and distribute its products. With a real-time inventory management system, you can optimize your supply chain to order at the exact right time and make timely deliveries to distributors.

Increased Business Efficiency

With more information that comes through the real-time inventory management software, your business can make better decisions. The data can improve coordination between the teams and all the other stakeholders. This will allow the business to avoid running out of stock or producing excessive stock.

Better Control of Inventory Velocity

Inventory velocity is the time between receiving raw material and sending out finished goods. It's the time the inventory stays with the company. As timely information comes in, your business can achieve better control over the inventory velocity.

Improved Promotional Campaigns

Using real-time inventory management software is a great way to understand which products and SKUs are in greater demand at any given time. This is especially helpful for designing promotional campaigns that focus on pushing products that are in high demand.

Easier Identification of Areas of Weakness

The real-time data is also beneficial in identifying areas of weakness within the supply chain and make quick decisions to fix the problems as they emerge. This can help the business get rid of any bottlenecks they may have in the operations.

Detailed Reports to Improve Operations

Time-series and cross-sectional studies of perpetual data can offer a deep analysis of business operations. You can create extensive dashboards and reports from the data and devise better strategies for the future.

Are you in search of reliable inventory management software? Check out AltheaSuite and get your hands on our state-of-the-art system. Our developers have created high-quality inventory system software for furniture retailers, small businesses, distribution businesses, and more.

Our batch tracking inventory management system will help you with product traceability and contingency planning. Our top-of-the-line cloud-based and barcode based inventory management system are accessible from any location across the world, and you can use all the features through one application.

Check out our website to learn more about our services, or contact us today for further information. We also offer free demos and a free trial of our software for your business.

This guest post was smitten by Joseph Dyson, a software designer that's currently working for AltheaSuite. He has over a decade of experience in developing and installing inventory management software for small and medium-sized businesses.